Deutsch Studyblr

it’s almost time to go back to school, and the transition is never easy, but you can help ease yourself back into the swing of things this next week!

day one:

get your schedule back on track

after three months of no school, I’d guess that you haven’t exactly been waking up early very often. start getting back into the swing of things by slowly adjusting your bed time starting tonight.

day two:

tidy up

clean your room up so that you don’t have to worry about it later! bonus points for cleaning out your closet and donating anything you don’t want to charity, so you have more room and someone else has a new outfit to wear on their first day. 

day three:

go shopping!

but only some of them. hold off on the things you’re not sure you’ll need, but pick up the essentials today (pens, pencils, those super cheap comp notebooks).

day four:

get organized

now’s the time to get things in order before your schedule is filled back up again. whatever you need to do to come home stress free after your first day of school, do it now!

day five:

set some goals

write down some things that you want to accomplish in the next year and put them up in your study space. be specific so you’re more likely to follow through! check out this article on smart goals if you haven’t already.

day six:

relax!

don’t waste this last little bit of summer! go spend time with your friends, check off the last things from your bucket list, or take this last opportunity to spend a whole day doing nothing.

day seven:

get all the last minute things together

pack your backpack, double check your schedule, lay out your clothes, pack a lunch and make something to eat before you run out the door have everything ready so you can have a relaxed morning and a great first day of school!

LESBIAN

the abyss surrounds us by emily skrutskie (sci fi/dystopian, woc protag)

ascension by jacqueline koyanagi (sci fi/space opera, disabled woc protag)

serenity rose by aaron alexovich (paranormal graphic novel)

everything leads to you by nina lacour (contemporary, but not “about” lgbt issues/coming out/anything like that)

afterworlds by scott westerfeld (contemporary/paranormal, woc protag)

beauty queens by libba bray (not sure on the genre; not sure how good this is, haven’t read it myself)

sword of the guardian by merry shannon (fantasy; warning for attempted rape scene)

huntress by malinda lo (fantasy, woc protag)

the dark wife by sarah diemer (fantasy)

seven by jennifer diemer (fantasy/fairy tale retelling)

bleeding earth by kaitlin ward (horror/fantasy; haven’t read this either, not sure how it is)

GAY

proxy by alex london (dystopian, moc protag)

more than this by patrick ness (dystopian i guess? not sure how to describe the genre tbh)

the star host by ft lukens (sci fi, haven’t read)

hero by perry moore (superhero)

BISEXUAL

god’s war by kameron hurley (post-apocalyptic/sci fi, bi woc protag)

coda by emma trevayne (dystopian, bi guy protag)

adaptation by malinda lo (sci fi, bi girl protag)

beauty queens by libba bray (see above, major bi characters)

ash by malinda lo (fantasy/fairy tale retelling, bi girl protag)

the young elites by marie lu (fantasy, lots of bi characters all around)

the scorpion rules by erin bow (dystopian, bi girl protag, haven’t read but i hear it’s awesome)

TRANS

beauty queens by libba bray (see above, major trans woman characters (i think))

the left hand of darkness by ursula k le guin (fantasy; haven’t read this either, not sure how it is)

love in the time of global warming by libba bray (dystopian; haven’t read this one either yikes)

Here they are! Some studying, revising and learning tips for history. This is primarily for GCSE level but can also be applied at higher levels.

Chronology: This is extremely important for history - making sure that you not only know the facts, but you know when to apply them. This applies to events, presidents and names. To remember chronology easier, I like to make colourful timelines or mind maps that go round clockwise chronologically. (Below is a chronological mind map I made for the Cold War).

People: Make sure you know which president issued which policy, which leader took over and who assassinated them. If you don’t know the names of anyone, how can you expect to fully understand the concept? A fun way I’ve found to remember people is by finding fun pictures of them so you can easily recall their name. For example, Russian Premier Brezhnev’s monobrow will always stick in your head.

Choice statistics: In my history class, they give us so many facts and statistics that it’s easy to get overwhelmed when trying to memorise them all. Instead, I like to see which ones I can recall the easiest and then focus only on learning them for the final exam. For example, I know that in the USSR’s 1897 census it was found that only 44% of people spoke Russian. However, I don’t need to know that that 44% was out of a total 125.6 million - and therefore I’ve carefully chosen which statistic I want to memorise so as not to waste time.

Link it together: You can link events together by highlighting in the same colour events that took place in the same year, involved the same leaders or of the same type (e.g. highlight wars in red). This especially helps for visual learners as it links together similar events, creating a mental mind map. Timelines also allow you to link events together by chronology (as stated above).

Brain dump: This is my favourite method of revising history and has helped me learn so much! Once I finish making my mind map of everything I have to remember for a topic, I then make a basic mind map (below left) with prompt words around it. Whenever I come to revise history, I get a plain piece of paper, the mind map and use the prompt words to write down everything I can remember. I then go through my brain dump with my proper notes and use a coloured pen to correct what I wrote down wrong and annotate it with anything I missed out. The act of writing everything down you know, everything you don’t know in a different colour and reading through your notes really gets the information in your head. Also, it clearly shows you what sub-sections of a topic you’re not strong on. 

You can see a picture by me using this method on this post and a youtube video by @studyign showing her use this method for biology!

I have finished my GCSE exams right now but will update this post with my GCSE History result when I receive it on 25th August. I take GCSE Edexcel History A and will take History as an A-level with the course beginning in September 2016.

I hope you enjoyed these history study tips! Let me know if they helped you or if there’s anything you think I should add!

Find other masterposts on my blog about learning French, coffee and a room tour! 

Tags are a great way to get your original content out into the community. So, I’ve decided to take the time to create a master list of all of the tags for the blogs I follow. 

Full disclaimer: This is not even close to all of the tags within the studyblr community. This is just a list to get you started. 

            30 websites to stave away boredom. Okay, so a lot of people get really bored during summer times and don’t want to do any *real work* but still want to stave off time! So here’s a list to waste your summer away with. I’ve used all the websites cuz I have no life.

Find the Invisible Cow // You are legit finding a cow using a man’s voices. The voice gets louder the closer you get to finding a cow.

Free Rice // A quiz game. And for every answer you get right, They donate ten grain of rice to help world hunger! Feels so rewarding.

The Nicest Place on the Internet // for when you need a hug.

Agar.io // I get eaten a lot.

Buzzfeed // COUGH LOUDLY. Ispentmylifeonthisdarnsite.

My Script Font // create your own font!

Little Alchemy // Make 500+ new things from only 5 things! This is ridiculously addicting lmao.

Sanger // My place to go when I need a pug.

Sad For Japan // blob that makes blobby sounds.

I Love You like a Fat Lady Loves Apple // it’s SO FUN.

Draw A Stickman // You draw a stick figure and it goes on adventures !!!

What Happened In my Birth Year // cool things that happened in your birth year.

The Useless Web // Basically 100+ other useless websites to go to

Pollack // Make a masterpiece.

Incredibox // You create music by dressing people up. So cool!!!

Zoomquilt // A very cool website that will keep you mesmerize and confused. (But it’s not really time-consuming, just weird and fun.)

Bored Button // press the bored button to find weird things you don’t need.

Press the Space Bar 2000 // Smash that space bar.

Pointless Sites // A lot of pointless sites.

Blue Ball Machine // So intricate and hypnotizing.

Favorite and Forget // interesting links n things that will change your life forever.

5-Second Film // films lasting for only five seconds omg they are so funny.

Akinator // Guess what character you are thinking! So accurate lmao.

Anasomnia // So cool. Light sensitive !!

Corgi Orgy // ITS NOT WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT’S REALLY CUTE.

You are Getting Old // interesting things about your age and your lifetime !!!

If the moon were only one pixel //  Mind-Blowing.

How Old Do I look? // How old do you look?

Tiii.me // Calculates the total time you watch a tv show.

Google Nightwalk // walk along a city, without going to the city.

For anyone trying to learn German, you’ve probably encountered the hell that is adjective endings and cried for a solid 10 minutes over them.

But don’t worry! You needn’t to learnthe entirety of 3 disgusting tables like THIS

All you need to do is identify some of the patterns and go from there; I’ve already done this myself so I scarcely think about actual endings - only in a few circumstances. Here are the things that I focus on: —- #1 Is there even a noun following? If so = NO ENDING #2 Is there a dative contracted preposition (e.g. beim/am/zum)? If so = +en #3 Is there an accusative contracted preposition (e.g. ins)? If so = +e #4 If you see (m)einem/(m)einer/(m)eines/(m)einen or any other possessive pronoun with these endings OR dem/des/den = +en #5 If you see eine = +e #6 If you see meine [/possessive]/keine/die on a PLURAL word = +en #7 If you see meine [/possessive]/keine/die on a SINGULAR word = +e #8 If you see das = +e

This will remove the bulk of the struggle - the only things left you will have to focus on are:

> Der > Is it masculine nominative (+e) or plural genitive or fem. gen/dat. (+en) > Ein > Is it masculine (+er) or neuter noun (+es). > Adjectives without articles - these ones you will just have to learn, but if you already know the definite article grid (der die das die, den die das die, dem der dem den, des der des der) then all you basically do is add the appropriate endings (er e es e, en e es e, em er em en, en er en er.. genitive is a small exception). If you can recognise a genitive noun ending (+(e)s on masc/neut words) then you know it’s +en and a plural dative ending (+(e)n)) then you know it’s +en as well. — Okay that seems like a lot but I promise the more often you do adjective endings the quicker you get used to seeing things. I no longer think if I see a word like dem/einem/beim I just put +en as I know it will be correct.

As an aspiring polyglot, it’s important that I have a bunch of resources at my disposal for language learning. I use a variety of resources for my learning, such as books, websites, apps, T.V. shows, movies, etc. These are some of my resources!

-Websites-

1. Omniglot

This website is more for finding information about languages and finding languages to learn. It has a very comprehensive list of languages and you can find plenty of secondary resources for learning the language. You can find tutors for that language, and even songs in your target language. I can just about guarantee you that no matter what language you’re looking for, it will be documented here. It is absolutely amazing, and it is a FANTASTIC resource for the dedicated linguist.

http://www.omniglot.com/

2. Duolingo

This is both a website AND an app, however, I tend to use the website more frequently, mainly because I’m always on my laptop anyway. The learning system that this website uses makes out very easy to stay motivated, and the lessons are organized amazingly. Currently, the website offers about 27 different language courses for English speakers, and various language courses for speakers of languages other than English. You can set goals for yourself, take multiple courses, be involved in discussions, and even do translating activities. Beware though, it gets VERY addicting.

https://www.duolingo.com

3. Memrise

Also a website AND an app, this is my all time favorite resource for learning languages. It has SO many languages to choose from, and it even offers subjects other than languages, although foreign language learning is its primary appeal factor. 

http://www.memrise.com/home/

4. BBC Languages

Although this sector of BBC has been archived and is no longer updated, it still contains some valuable information. It includes some useful phrases, alphabet guides, and jokes in many languages. You’re bound to learn something new there, so check it out!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/

5. Foreign Service Institute (FSI)

This website offers language courses constructed by the U.S. government, and relies heavily on audio-based learning. However, many of the language courses include lessons in the form of pdf. There is a very large selection of languages to choose from, so this resource is very good for getting an excellent introduction to your target language.

https://fsi-languages.yojik.eu/

6. Live Lingua Project

Claiming to be the internet’s largest collection of free public domain language learning materials, this website is a MUST for language learners. It contains the FSI courses, Peace Corps language learning materials, and the DLI (military) language courses. It also offers Skype sessions for language learners in several different languages! The main appeal of this website, however, is the Peace Corps language material archive. There are SO many different languages to choose from, and there are many ebooks and audio files to take advantage of here.

https://www.livelingua.com/#project

7. Languages On the Web

This website offers texts that translate English texts into 55 other languages. It is not a translator, it merely provides reading material in foreign languages to learners. It is a very useful website, especially for analyzing how sentences are formed in other languages.

http://www.lonweb.org/

8. Learn 101

This website is really helpful for explaining grammatical concepts and for learning general stuff about languages, such as verbs, vocabulary, nouns, adjectives, basic phrases, foods, etc. There are quite alot of languages offered on this website, so it’s a great resource!

http://learn101.org/

9. Clozemaster

This website is great for learning languages through a sentence based, contextual experience. It’s a bit like Duolingo in that sense, and it requires you to fill in missing words from sentences. In my opinion, it’s better for people with a background in their target language, and they offer many different options for languages. It’s also good for speakers of a native language other than English!

https://www.clozemaster.com/

10. Lexicity

This is a great website for ancient language learners, and it provides resources for Egyptian, Mayan, Hittite, Latin, Old English, Etruscan, Gaulish, and several others. I have found the majority of resources that I have looked through helpful to my learning efforts. They have dictionaries, grammars, charts, and texts, and it is a very comprehensive resource.

http://lexicity.com/

11. Book2

This is a good resource for learners looking for audio files to help them practice their listening. I haven’t used it all too much, but there are many language options, so you’re bound to find a language that you find interesting on here.

http://www.goethe-verlag.com/book2/

12. Lang-8

This is a great resource for getting feedback on your writing in your target language. You can post things in your target language, and native speakers of that language will correct it, and you can do the same for other people! It’s very helpful, and is a great resource if you have to write in your target language often.

http://lang-8.com/

13. Bilinguis

This website offers a few books to read in different languages and is good for comparing different languages of the same book. This makes for good practice for reading in your target language. 

http://bilinguis.com/

14. Udemy

There are quite a few languages courses on this website, although several of them cost money. However, there are quite a few courses that are free, and are good for introducing you to your language of choice.

https://www.udemy.com/courses/

-Apps-

1. Memrise

As mentioned above in the websites section, this app is so amazing for on-the-go language learning, as well as for subjects other than languages! It helps users memorize concepts with “meme” which are pictures that will remind you of what the word or concept means, and it’s such a unique and fun learning experience! It has the feel of using flashcards, but I just love using this app so much.

2. Duolingo

Also mentioned in the websites section, this app is great for both learning new words and reviewing words that you have either memorized or have just been exposed to. There are grammar lessons available, translation activities, groups that you can join, and Duolingo makes it fun to learn a language with it’s reward system.

3. HelloTalk

This is my absolute FAVORITE app to talk to native speakers of my target language(s). You can become language partners with people, help others with translations, video/voice call, send voice messages, and have as many partners as you want! It’s an absolutely amazing app, and I highly recommend it to everyone! Warning- If you’re a native English speaker looking for a native Chinese speaker, you will get HUNDREDS of requests. It might overwhelm you for a second.

4. TuneIn Radio

This is really great for finding stations in your target language, and it helps with practicing both comprehension of spoken language as well as introduces you to awesome music in your target language!

5. Tigercards

This app presents words in the form of lists, and gives you vocab so that you can review it. Not the best presentation of words and it doesn’t really offer a memorization technique like Memrise, but it’s still helpful!

6. Busuu

This app is a bit like Duolingo, and it offers German, Spanish, Portuguese, French, English, Italian, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Japanese, and Chinese!

7. uTalk

This app offers so many different languages, it’s pretty incredible. There are games that you can play, phrasebooks, and several other features. The interface is also really awesome and simple, so it makes learning easier than usual. Definitely a must have.

8. Innovative Language

I haven’t used this app much, but I have heard that the lessons on this app are very good, and you can download the lessons so that you can view them offline.

9. FlashSticks

This has been super helpful to me, in addition to the games and flashcards that it offers, it also provides an object scanner, which uses your camera to scan objects and then tells you what it’s called in your target language! 

10. Mondly

This has been an awesome resource for me since it’s a bit like Duolingo, only with more unique language options. I’m currently using it to learn Hindi, however, there are tons of other language options. The interface is awesome, and I love using it.

11. MindSnacks

This company makes several different language apps, and currently I’m using the Mandarin, Japanese, and French ones. So far, I’ve really enjoyed these apps!

12. Spotify

Through Spotify’s “Word” category, there are many different playlists dedicated to language learning, such as for Arabic, Mandarin, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, and Swedish!

13. Quizlet

This is more of a diy language learning resource. It is not an inherent language learning resource, however, if you learn best through lists and/or flashcards, then this app allows you to make cards and review vocab that way! I use it all the time for exams!

14. FluentU

This is an awesome app for watching videos in your target language, and is really good for learning new words.

-Books-

1. Teach Yourself

This series offers an astounding number of languages, and I have found them to be pretty effective in helping me learn languages. I have used the Russian, Arabic, Mandarin, and Irish ones.

2. Barron’s Grammar and Verb books

I really like the way Barron’s does language books, so far I have used their Japanese grammar book and their Russian verbs book, and I really like the layout of them, especially the grammar book!

3. Dk Visual Bilingual Dictionaries

These are so helpful for me, I’ve been using the Mandarin and Japanese dictionaries for a long time, and they are so comprehensive and awesome!

4. Ethnologue

These aren’t language “learning” materials, but rather they help me find new languages to learn. These are more for the linguistic lovers, since they catalog almost every living language in the world in every country, and provide language maps and statistics. There’s really fascinating stuff in those books, so I highly recommend purchasing them. 

5. The “Dirty” books

So far, I have only used the Japanese version, however, I really like what the book includes, and it’s great for learning slang in your target language, and things that traditional textbooks wouldn’t teach you.

6. Living Language

I LOVE these books so much, I’ve used the Russian, Mandarin, and French ones and I’ve found them very helpful! The layout of these are very nice, and they’re pretty comprehensive.

7. Tuttle books

Tuttle offers several different language books, and they all are very good in my opinion. I have used their books for Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Japanese, and Hindi.

Hey

For Bisexual i can really only think of “bi”, i don’t know any other slang terms for that

lesbian = lebisch

gay = schwul (only used for men)

other than that there’s the phrase “Vom anderen Ufer sein” which means something like “to be from the other riverside”

This is mostly used for guys but i guess you can also use it for women. However it is mostly used when someone doesn’t really want to actually say the word “gay” or “homosexual”. 

“Alex ist vom anderen Ufer” = Alex is gay.

side note: I love how this expression implies that straight people live on one and gay people on the other side of the river, because like?? what do bisexuals do? drown?? live on an inflatable island on the middle of the river? bisexual river rafting? no one knows

In the last part of this series, we’re dealing with the neuter nouns.

Neuter ALWAYS:

all alphabets (s A, s B, s C)

all colours (s Blau, s Rot)

all languages (s Deutsch, s Englisch)

all nouns derived from infinitive verbs (s Laufen, s Kaufen)

all nouns derived from adjectives (s Gute, s Schlechte) 

all nouns beginning with Ge- that represents a collection of something (s Gebirge, s Gewässer)

nouns with the diminutive ending -chen (s Mädchen, s Zettelchen) -lein (s Fräulein, s Kindlein)

nouns with the ending -ett (s Tablett, s Ballett) -in (s Benzin, s Nikotin) *-ing (s Doping, s Multitasking) -ma (s Thema, s Schema) -ment (s Experiment, s Kompliment) EXCEPT: the noun “Moment” which can be both masculine and neuter depending on it’s meaning (masculine when it means “in that instant”, neuter when it means “factor/circumstance/aspect”) -o (s Auto, s Büro)

USUALLY:

nouns with the ending: -um (s Museum, s Studium) BUT: r Reichtum, r Rum

welcome!!!!!! this is long overdue. i’ve been promising myself i’d made this forever. so here it is - the ultimate masterpost of wlw (women loving women) books. not all characters are lesbians, some are bi or pan, though all books feature f/f relationships and/or themes. there are 150+ recommendations, so enjoy!

YOUNG ADULT CONTEMPORARY:

the miseducation of cameron post by emily m. danforth

keeping you a secret by julie anne peters

grl2grl by julie anne peters

lies my girlfriend told me by julie anne peters

far from xanadu by julie anne peters

rubyfruit jungle by rita mae brown

annie on my mind by nancy garden

kissing kate by lauren myracle

everything leads to you by nina lacour

dare truth or promise by paula boock

gravel queen by tea benduhn

her name in the sky by kelly quindlen

tell me again how a crush should feel by sara farizan

no one needs to know by amanda grace

my best friend, maybe by caela carter

dirty london by kelley york

ask the passengers by a.s. king

empress of the world by sara ryan

pages for you by sylvia brownrigg

waiting in the wings by melissa brayden

breathing underwater by lu vickers

hood by emma donoghue

between you & me by marisa calin

starting from here by lisa jenn bigelow

about a girl by sarah mccarry

the flywheel by erin gough

the necessary hunger by nina revoyr

the house you pass on the way by jacqueline woodson

about a girl by joanne horniman

gravity by leanne lieberman

another life altogether by elaine beale

great by sara benincasa

the gravity between us by kristen zimmer

taking flight by siera maley

the road to her by k.e. payne

the summer i wasn’t me by jessica verdi

unspeakabe by abbie rushton

beauty of the broken by tawni waters

read me like a book by liz kessler

starring kitty by keris stainton

holding back by mila kerr

cam girl by leah raeder

not otherwise specified by hannah moskowitz

an unstill life by kate larkindale

look both ways by alison cherry

a story of now by emily o’beirne

my summer of love by helen cross

marionette by t.b. markinson

the difference between you and me by madeleine george

the bermudez triangle by maureen johnson

girl walking backwards by bett williams

FANTASY/PARANORMAL/SCIENCE FICTION:

the dark wife by sarah diemer

twixt by sarah diemer

the witch sea by sarah diemer

sugar moon by sarah diemer

far by sarah diemer

carmilla by joseph sheridan le fanu

ash by malinda lo

huntress by malinda lo

adaption by malinda lo

the traitor baru cormorant by seth dickinson

karen memory by elizabeth bear

bleeding earth by kaitlin ward

lady knight by l.j. baker

the second sister by rae d. magdon

wild by meghan o’brien

santa olivia by jacqueline carey

everafter by nell stark

iron & velvet by alexis hall

silver kiss by naomi clark

with her body by nicola griffith

ammonite by nicole griffith

the windup girl by paolo bacigalupi

a harvest of ripe figs by shira glassman

seven by jennifer diemer

braided by elora bishop

crumbs by elora bishop

labyrinth by pearl north

the drowning girl by caitlin r. kiernan

the red tree by caitlin r. kiernan

the big lie by julie mayhew

the first twenty by jennifer lavoie

the girl in the road by monica byrne

every dark desire by fiona zedde

CRIME/MYSTERY/THRILLER:

black iris by leah raeder

dangerous girls by abigail haas

far from you by tess sharpe

slow river by nicola griffith

the blue place by nicola griffith

stay by nicola griffith

vanished by e.e. cooper

keepers of the cave by gerri hill

hunter’s way by gerri hill

child of doors by j.s. little

scars by cheryl rainfield

trust me, i’m trouble by mary elizabeth summer

out of order by casey lawrence

reconstructing amelia by kimberly mccreight

vicious little darlings by katherine easer

HISTORICAL:

the paying guests by sarah waters

tipping the velvet by sarah waters

affinity by sarah waters

the night watch by sarah waters

fingersmith by sarah waters

the price of salt by patricia highsmith (also known as carol)

wildthorn by jane eagland

silhouette of a sparrow by molly beth griffin

lies we tell ourselves by robin talley

patience & sarah by isabel miller

the hours by michael cunningham

the well of loneliness by radclyffe hall

mrs dalloway by virginia woolf

the world unseen by shamam sarif

map of ireland by stephanie grant

hild by nicole griffith

honey girl by lisa freeman

letters never sent by sandra moran

fall on your knees by ann-marie macdonald

the last nude by ellis avery

the teahouse fire by ellis avery

olivia by dorothy strachey

the friendly young ladies by mary renault

moon at nine by deborah ellis

the marriage recital by katharine grant

the crimson ribbon by katherine clements

the other typist by suzanne rindell

days of grace by catherine hall

desert of the heart by jane rule

ADULT FICTION:

sing you home by jodi picoult

and playing the role of herself by k.e. lane

i can’t think straight by shamim sarif

stone butch blues by leslie feinberg

curious wine by katherine v. forrest

the color purple by alice walker

jericho by ann mcman

oranges are not the only fruit by jeanette winterson

gut symmetries by jeanette winterson

why be happy when you could be normal? by jeanette winterson

written on the body by jeanette winterson

where we belong by catherine ryan hyde

at the water’s edge by harper bliss

behind the green curtain by riley lashea

96 hours by georgia beers

all that matters by susan x. meagher

give me a reason by lyn gardner

ice by lyn gardner

my last season with you by s.v.c. ricketts

taking the long way by lily r. mason

nightwood by djuna barnes

living at night by mariana romo-carmona

choices by nancy toder

cassandra at the wedding by dorothy baker

landing by emma donoghue

stir-fry by emma donoghue

pitifully ugly by robin alexander

COMICS BOOKS/GRAPHIC NOVELS:

blue is the warmest colour by julie maroh

fun home by alison bechdel

dykes to watch out for by alison bechdel

honor girl by maggie trash

skim by mariko tamaki

potential by ariel shrag

strangers in paradise by terry moore

NON-FICTION:

odd girls and twilight lovers by lillian faderman

surpassing the love of men by lillian faderman

chloe plus olivia by lillian faderman

to believe in women by lillian faderman

sapphistries by leila j. rupp

inseparable by emma donoghue

passions between women by emma donoghue

dear john, i love jane by candace walsh

a woman like that by joan larkin

aimee & jaguar by erica fischer

the femme mystique by leslea newman

boots of leather, slippers of gold by elizabeth lapovsky kennedy

different daughters by marcia m. gallo

between women by sharon marcus

charity and sylvia by rachel hope cleves

lesbian culture: an anthology by julia penelope

alice + freda forever by alexis coe

auf etwas stehen = to like something a lot

Ich steh* total auf Hip-Hop. = I really like hip-hop.

auf jemanden stehen  to have a crush on somebody

Stehst du auf den Typen? = Do you have a crush on that guy? Ich steh* auf sie. = I have a crush on her. Ich steh* auf dich = I have a crush on you.

*Note: In this case you’d say “ich steh” instead of “ich stehe” because it’s colloquial. In spoken German the -e of the first person singular is usually omitted, but you can’t leave it out in written German!

*If you are actually standing on someone, you’d use the dative case instead of the accusative case. But I guess and hope that you won’t actually need that sentence.

Probably one of the biggest problems for non-native speakers! You may have stumbled upon a few rules that eased the learning a little, so I’m going to try to provide a few more here to make life a little easier! Remember: Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel, so don’t be too frustrated over the exceptions! You’ve just got to learn them, there’s no other way about it - sad but true.

I’ll do this in 3 parts so you won’t be bombarded with too much information at one go :)

Masculine ALWAYS:

all males (human)

all seasons (r Frühling, r Sommer, r Herbst, r Winter)

all directions (r Norden, r Süden, r Westen, r Osten)

all days of the week and months (r Montag, r Januar)

times of the day (r Morgen, r Mittag, r Abend) EXCEPT: e Nacht because it’s not part of the “day” (in the sense of receiving sunlight)

all precipitations (r Regen, r Schnee, r Hagel)

all random weather terms (r Wind, r Taifun)

all types of rocks, stones and earth (r Ton, r Granit) EXCEPT: e Kreide 

all alcoholic drinks (r Wodka, r Tequila, r Wein) EXCEPT: s Bier

all car brands (r Mercedes, r Ford, r Toyota)

nouns with the ending -ant (r Lieferant, r Elefant) -ent (r Interessent, r Agent) -ich/isch (r Teppich, r Pfirsisch) -ig (r Honig, r Teig, r Essig, r Zweig) -ismus (r Sozialismus, r Kapitalismus) -ling (r Schmetterling, r Lehrling) -or (r Monitor, r Motor) -ör (r Frisör, r Likör)

nouns derived from a verb WITHOUT the ending -en (r Lauf, r Gang, r Fang from laufen, gehen, fangen respectively) EXCEPT: e Rückkehr (from zurückkehren)

USUALLY:

a nonthreatening guide to forming cases (including strong/weak adjectival endings), as requested by snowflakemelodies

a guide to how to use cases properly can be found here, and I’ve also posted case tables here if you’d rather not have the extensive explanation

Other fun turns of phrase in German include:

“Ich versteh’ nur Bahnhof” = “I only understand train station” for when you’re confused

“Hast du Tomaten auf den Augen?” = “Have you got tomatoes on your eyes?” for when someone’s not seeing the obvious

“Auf die Schippe nehmen” = “Take someone on a shovel”, basically means to take the piss out of someone

“Du gehst mir auf den Senkel.” = “You’re walking on my shoelace(s).”

“Du gehst mir auf den Keks.” = “You’re walking on my cookie.”

This is a list of tools that are helpful for those learning German. They are supplementary materials meant to improve your knowledge of the language, and should be accompanied by a course/books. If you want resources/books to start learning German, they can be found here: [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x] [x]

Apps

Duolingo: This is great for learning translation between German and English/other languages. 

Memrise: I know most people use it for vocabulary, but I used it to learn the principal part of verbs. For example, I would put  to begin on one side then anfangen - fing an on the other side. 

Deutschakademie [iOS] [Android]: This app offers exercises by grammar topic and is suitable for beginners as well as advanced learners as it goes to C1. 

German Class [iOS] [Android] : This app provides you with vocabulary drills, grammar explanations, and various exercises. The demo is free but the full app is $3.

German Listening [Android]: Listen to German articles read out loud.

HelloTalk: If you want to talk to native speakers, this is a great app. You can choose to text or call within the app, and have them correct your texts.

Learn German [iOS] [Android]: App designed by the Goethe Institute meant for beginners. It helps you learn vocabulary by theme in an interactive story way. 

Adventure German [iOS] [Android]: An interactive game where you must find a stolen item. This is was also developed by the Goethe Institute and is meant for high beginners as well as low intermediate students. This is a fun way of improving your vocabulary and reading comprehension.

A Mysterious Adventure [iOS] [Android]: This is mystery game by the Goethe Institute meant for intermediate students as it is all in German. You play as a woman trying to solve a mystery. I enjoyed playing the game and it helped my listening/reading comprehension.

Der Die Das [Android Only]: App meant to help you learn the correct articles of German words.

Listening/Videos

Slow German: Podcast that is slowly read to improve your listening comprehension in German.

FluentU: Interactive video website where you watch videos with the subtitles in both languages and learn through immersion. This is a paid service, but you can get a free trial.

Yabla: Similar to above, but cheaper. Also has a 2-week trial period if you want to try it.

Bodowartke: Listen to songs in different German dialects.

Lyricstraining: Learn German through song lyrics. You listen to a song and fill in the blank according to your level of the language.

NatifyMe: Learn German through videos. You can choose their videos or upload your own to make video flashcards of vocabulary.

Sounds of Speech: This is a phonetics teaching tool that teaches you German pronunciation with animations 

Verbs & Grammar

Verbix: Verb conjugator.

Verben: Verb conjugation practice.

Verbformen: Verb conjugator

Canoo: Dictionary of German inflection.

Cheatography: Make your own German cheat sheets about cases/vocabulary such as the one linked. 

Vocabulary

Babadum: Vocabulary game

Linguee: A dictionary tool where you can see words and their definitions in different contexts.

Tatoeba: Look up a sentence/word and see how people have translated it.

Quizlet: Look up or make your own vocabulary lists in German. There are many ways provided for you to learn.

Reading/Immersion

Polyglot Project: Read literature in German and then click on words you do not know to translate them

Readlang: Read various texts and watch youtube videos with the text in sync. You translate any words you do not know.

Lingualy: Read articles in German by different topics and then translate any words you do not know. Those words are then added to your collected words and you can review them later.

Clozemaster: A sentence game where you learn language in context and choose the word that fits in the sentence. 

Lang-8: Write in German and have it corrected by native speakers. 

Influent: A language learning video game where you learn vocabulary by acting as a character exploring a house. It is fun and has different modes to learn the words. Cost is $10 but can be $3 during the sales in winter and summer.

German Stories: Read fairy tales by the Grimm Brothers in a dual language format

Spruecheportal: German idioms

For anon! (I’m going to leave out the most obvious ones like Memrise and Duolingo. Feel free to add ones that I’ve missed.)

YouTube:

Deutsch Für Euch Easy German Get Germanized Slow German (also a podcast)

Online Proficiency Tests:

Deutsch Lernen Transparent Heidelberg

General Websites:

lyricstraining DeutscheWelle Buzzfeed Deutschland German resources Tumblr tag My German tag (gotta get that self-promo) Goethe Institut deutsch.info deutschdrang Internet Polyglot 1000 Most Common German Words deutsch-perfekt yourdailygerman

Websites specifically for A1-A2

learn-german-online A1 Goethe Institut A1-A2 longua.org A1 longua.org A2 A1 Vocab list deutschakademie A2

Websites specifically for B1-B2

B1 vocab list B2 vocab list longua.org B1 longua.org B2 german-course-vienna B1 german-course-vienna B2

Websites specifically for C1-C2

longua.org C1 deutschakademie C1 schubert-verlag C1 and here schubert-verlag C2 and here Quizlet C1-C2 vocab flash cards

German News/TV

ZDF ORF TLC Deutschland Das Erste ProSieben

German Music

Disney songs Rap Rock My German playlist

Online German Dictionaries

Linguee dict.cc reverso Duden Austrian dictionary Austrian German Glossary Bavarian dictionary Colognian dictionary Swabian - English

Finding people to talk to:

So this is mainly aimed at A(S) or maybe GCSE students doing German as it’s pretty much an easy way to use complex grammar in an essay and impress the hell outta teachers/examiners.

This is mainly aimed at A(S) Level students because it combines 2 things you should know - the passive voice and the subjunctive II mood. 

Ex Passive: The book was read (active would be: Someone read the book) Das Buch wurde gelesen. Ex Subjunctive: It would be better (”would be” = possibility = konjunktiv II) Es wäre besser.

Since the subjunctive II mood only has 2 ‘tenses’ this’ll be a lot easier!

“Non-Past” Subjunctive Passive

Formed via conjugated würden + past participle + werden.

Ex: Ein Buch würde gelesen werden. (A book would be read.) Ex: Muskeln würden gestärkt werden. (Muscles would be strengthened.) Ex: Wenn du geschlagen werden würdest (If you were to be slapped.)

Remember wenn moves verb to the end of the sentence!

“Past” Subjunctive Passive

Formed via conjugated wären + past participle + worden.

Ex: Es wäre auf der Party getanzt worden (There would’ve been dancing at the party) Ex: Wenn Bewegung durchgesetzt worden wäre (If exercise were to have been enforced) Ex: Lieder wären auf der Party gesungen worden (Songs would’ve been sung at the party)

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By using these you can form complex grammatical sentences in your essays (which, at AS, will probably easily get you the 5/5 mark) and they can be really useful for certain sentence starters. To give an example:

Wenn der Fernseher nicht erfunden worden wäre. (If the television were not to have been invented)

Then you could say “activity levels would be higher” or “children would be more creative” and so on. It’s a really good thing to slip in, so just give it a try!!

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